There are days when I don't want to be here. There are times when I just don't want to be here at all. I don't want to be here... I want to be with Jesus. Where everything is perfect. Where there is no mess. Where there is no pain, suffering, or tears. Where everything is just perfect. Yes, I want to be there.
I look around me and I see bombs going off, killing many. I see shootings. I see pain and voilence. I see porn and abuse. I see drugs and alcohol. I see hate and greed. I see marriages failing and the meaning of friendship depleating. I see music and movies turn to filth. I see christians fall into the ways of the world and lose their faith. I see churchs falling apart. I see heartache and sickness. I see sin...sin and imperfection...And I long to see holiness and perfection. I long to see Jesus.
Yet, I'm here. Why am I here? Why am I stuck in a world of sin when I am made for a Kingdom of Holiness?
I am here because my being here is saving others from being in Hell.
I don't want to be here because I know when I'm done here my home is in Heaven. But what about those whose homes aren't in Heaven? What about those doomed for Hell?
My being here isn't just about getting by till my life is taken from this world and placed with Jesus. My being here is to make sure, when I go, that others are coming with me to see Jesus. My being here isn't about filtering what joy I can from this world, but it's about bringing joy to those who have none. Bringing and showing others what it means to have the joy of Jesus in your heart. My being here isn't about living it up till I'm gone. It's about living for Jesus and bringing Him to the lives of those who do not know what it truly means to live. Its not about wasting away in the worries of this world, but instead, bringing life and hope into those who's world is headed towards death. My being here is about bringing Jesus into the lives of as many as I can. My being here doesn't just require being here. It requires work, and action, and sacrifice. It requires conquering the sin and fear of this world, and bringing forth the hope of the world to come. God's Kingdom come.
My being here, your being here, all of us being here, is to prepare us ALL to one day be with Jesus. Our being here is entirely for Him. Our being here determines where we and where others will be when this world no longer exists. Our being here either equips us for Heaven...or for Hell.
It's not always easy being here. I'd much rather not be here. But I'm here for a purpose and a reason. I want to make my being here about something. I want to make my being here bring others to be with Jesus.
So why here? For Jesus. I'm here for Him. And so that others may know Him.
Monday, April 22, 2013
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
A gift in the midst of waiting
"God proves to be good to the man who passionately waits, to the woman who diligently seeks. It's a good thing to quietly hope, quietly hope for help from God. It's a good thing when you're young to stick it out through the hard times. When life is heavy and hard to take, go off by yourself. Enter the silence. Bow in prayer. Don't ask questions: Wait for hope to appear."
How many of us are waiting for something? I know I am. This life seems to be full of waiting. Whether it's those desires deep down inside of us that we desperately want... or those things we literally need. It seems there is always something we are constantly waiting on. And it's always the things we have no control over. The things God has rule of.
I know that for me, I so often see my waiting as pain or punishment. I get so impatient. I see my waiting and I look at the situation and wonder what I am doing wrong that I still remain in this waiting position. Or what can I possibly do to get myself out of this? I'm always wondering and asking "How much longer, God?? How much longer!" I get discouraged being here. And the fact of the matter is, I get so caught in my waiting that I just make it all about me. Instead of truly putting my focus on God, I put it on myself. I turn what could be this time of growing closer to God, and make it an entirely selfish thing. I look for all the possible reasons of why it is happening, and how to keep it from happening, instead of just rejoicing in the fact that it IS happening. I mean is waiting really all that bad? Why would God leave me here if it was bad? What is it that waiting is really all about? What if waiting was really considered a gift?
God has us all waiting for many different reasons. Maybe it's because we are not yet ready for what He has in store. Maybe we need more patience. Maybe we need more trust in God. Maybe we just need a little more time to grow before we move into that next step. Maybe there is sin in our life that God is trying to rid us of. Or maybe what we're waiting for just isn't ready for us. Whatever the case, one thing is for sure- This time of waiting is good. This time of waiting is a time to silently surrender. A time to bow in prayer. A time to take what your waiting for and turn it over to Him. Completely turn it over to Him. It's a time to put away those selfish desires and rejoice in Him. Waiting is a time to grow closer to God. To put away what I want and be satisfied in Him. Isaiah 30:18-"So the Lord must wait for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion. For the Lord is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for his help."
It doesn't matter if you ask for the same thing a hundred million times, it is still good. It doesn't matter if everyday is the same continual routine of calling out to God and asking Him for strength and patience to get through this time. It doesn't matter if everyone else is moving forward, yet you still remain waiting. God has me and He has you here for a reason. And you know what, He delights, more than you can ever imagine, in being with us during this time. He loves our prayers, our consistency. He wants us to be at this time where we have no control, where you have to put your entire trust and hope in Him. He wants us and enjoys us relying fully on Him.
"The Lord is good to those who depend on Him, to those who search for Him. So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord. And it is good for people to submit at an early age to the yoke of his discipline: Let them sit alone in silence beneath the Lord's demands. Let them lie face down in the dust, for there may be hope at last. Let them turn the other check to those who strike them and accept the insults of their enemies."(Lamentations 3:25-30)
Why do I remain waiting? Because it is good for me to wait on God and depend on Him. God delights in seeing me continually come to my quiet place searching and calling on Him. He delights in giving me hope. He delights in me calling to Him instead of others. He wants me to lie face down searching for hope in the midst of all this waiting. He wants me to still seek Him while I watch everyone else move forward even while I remain waiting...and in actuallity, he doesn't have me here just to wait. He has me here to discipline me, to teach me, to LOVE me. He has me here for good.
So you see, it's not about me seeking out God in order for the wait to be over. It's not about delighting in God so that my desires will be given to me. But instead, making God my greatest and only true desire and rejoicing in the fact that He delights in me. It's not wrong to be in the position of waiting. I may get tired of the same routine and praying for the same thing. But it's good for me. God delights in seeing my consistency. He wants me to endure through this time. He wants me to be at a standstill in life if it means just being here with Him. He wants me calling and praying out to Him. He wants me depending on His discipline and guidance. For "The Lord is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him."(vs. 25) God wants me to rejoice in Him rejoicing in me. I may feel ready for the next step but God wants me right here. The point of my whole existence to is be in His presence, calling out to Him, searching and serving. Why should I be waiting on something when I have everything just by having God? I no longer spend each day waiting for something else, but instead, rejoicing in what IS. Rejoicing in the fact that God has everything laid out for me and all He wants for me right now is to keep doing what I'm doing. Keep praying, and keep searching for Him. Even if it is praying for the same things over and over again. Even if it is the same daily routine. God delights in me waiting for Him. He delights in me giving myself to Him over and over again while I am waiting. God loves me being here. It's not wrong. And I'm not doing anything wrong. This is where he wants me. He wants me at this place of intimacy with Him. Why do I question His plan and His timing? As Wesley L. Duewel once said, "Give Him time to do great things. The greater the work He plans, the greater the prayer preparation that may be necassary, including prayer for guidance. God often waits so that He can be even more gracious." How great is that?? Don't lose hope, God is just planning something that much better!
Waiting, once embraced as it should be, is a sweet, sweet gift.
"Especially in the waiting." By Josiah Schwarts
The point in waiting is
to enjoy
To love and worship God
In every aspect of life
Including the waiting.
And in the waiting
Remember His nature
That He is the Giver of every perfect gift
That He desires to lavish you with such treasures
Treasures that are worth the wait
Solely because He is in them.
Rest in this:
He is going to give you
Exactly what you need
At exactly the time you need it.
That is reason to smile
That is reason to breathe easy
And rest in Him.
Let go of "when" and "if"
Because His ways
Are so much higher than yours.
His thoughts
Beyond what you could ever fathom
Because He loves you.
Oh, how He loves you.
And this is the point
of your entire existence
To experience His presence
His love
Inside every moment
Especially in the waiting.
"But I will keep on hoping for your help; I will praise you more and more." Psalm 71:14
How many of us are waiting for something? I know I am. This life seems to be full of waiting. Whether it's those desires deep down inside of us that we desperately want... or those things we literally need. It seems there is always something we are constantly waiting on. And it's always the things we have no control over. The things God has rule of.
I know that for me, I so often see my waiting as pain or punishment. I get so impatient. I see my waiting and I look at the situation and wonder what I am doing wrong that I still remain in this waiting position. Or what can I possibly do to get myself out of this? I'm always wondering and asking "How much longer, God?? How much longer!" I get discouraged being here. And the fact of the matter is, I get so caught in my waiting that I just make it all about me. Instead of truly putting my focus on God, I put it on myself. I turn what could be this time of growing closer to God, and make it an entirely selfish thing. I look for all the possible reasons of why it is happening, and how to keep it from happening, instead of just rejoicing in the fact that it IS happening. I mean is waiting really all that bad? Why would God leave me here if it was bad? What is it that waiting is really all about? What if waiting was really considered a gift?
God has us all waiting for many different reasons. Maybe it's because we are not yet ready for what He has in store. Maybe we need more patience. Maybe we need more trust in God. Maybe we just need a little more time to grow before we move into that next step. Maybe there is sin in our life that God is trying to rid us of. Or maybe what we're waiting for just isn't ready for us. Whatever the case, one thing is for sure- This time of waiting is good. This time of waiting is a time to silently surrender. A time to bow in prayer. A time to take what your waiting for and turn it over to Him. Completely turn it over to Him. It's a time to put away those selfish desires and rejoice in Him. Waiting is a time to grow closer to God. To put away what I want and be satisfied in Him. Isaiah 30:18-"So the Lord must wait for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion. For the Lord is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for his help."
It doesn't matter if you ask for the same thing a hundred million times, it is still good. It doesn't matter if everyday is the same continual routine of calling out to God and asking Him for strength and patience to get through this time. It doesn't matter if everyone else is moving forward, yet you still remain waiting. God has me and He has you here for a reason. And you know what, He delights, more than you can ever imagine, in being with us during this time. He loves our prayers, our consistency. He wants us to be at this time where we have no control, where you have to put your entire trust and hope in Him. He wants us and enjoys us relying fully on Him.
"The Lord is good to those who depend on Him, to those who search for Him. So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord. And it is good for people to submit at an early age to the yoke of his discipline: Let them sit alone in silence beneath the Lord's demands. Let them lie face down in the dust, for there may be hope at last. Let them turn the other check to those who strike them and accept the insults of their enemies."(Lamentations 3:25-30)
Why do I remain waiting? Because it is good for me to wait on God and depend on Him. God delights in seeing me continually come to my quiet place searching and calling on Him. He delights in giving me hope. He delights in me calling to Him instead of others. He wants me to lie face down searching for hope in the midst of all this waiting. He wants me to still seek Him while I watch everyone else move forward even while I remain waiting...and in actuallity, he doesn't have me here just to wait. He has me here to discipline me, to teach me, to LOVE me. He has me here for good.
So you see, it's not about me seeking out God in order for the wait to be over. It's not about delighting in God so that my desires will be given to me. But instead, making God my greatest and only true desire and rejoicing in the fact that He delights in me. It's not wrong to be in the position of waiting. I may get tired of the same routine and praying for the same thing. But it's good for me. God delights in seeing my consistency. He wants me to endure through this time. He wants me to be at a standstill in life if it means just being here with Him. He wants me calling and praying out to Him. He wants me depending on His discipline and guidance. For "The Lord is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him."(vs. 25) God wants me to rejoice in Him rejoicing in me. I may feel ready for the next step but God wants me right here. The point of my whole existence to is be in His presence, calling out to Him, searching and serving. Why should I be waiting on something when I have everything just by having God? I no longer spend each day waiting for something else, but instead, rejoicing in what IS. Rejoicing in the fact that God has everything laid out for me and all He wants for me right now is to keep doing what I'm doing. Keep praying, and keep searching for Him. Even if it is praying for the same things over and over again. Even if it is the same daily routine. God delights in me waiting for Him. He delights in me giving myself to Him over and over again while I am waiting. God loves me being here. It's not wrong. And I'm not doing anything wrong. This is where he wants me. He wants me at this place of intimacy with Him. Why do I question His plan and His timing? As Wesley L. Duewel once said, "Give Him time to do great things. The greater the work He plans, the greater the prayer preparation that may be necassary, including prayer for guidance. God often waits so that He can be even more gracious." How great is that?? Don't lose hope, God is just planning something that much better!
Waiting, once embraced as it should be, is a sweet, sweet gift.
"Especially in the waiting." By Josiah Schwarts
The point in waiting is
to enjoy
To love and worship God
In every aspect of life
Including the waiting.
And in the waiting
Remember His nature
That He is the Giver of every perfect gift
That He desires to lavish you with such treasures
Treasures that are worth the wait
Solely because He is in them.
Rest in this:
He is going to give you
Exactly what you need
At exactly the time you need it.
That is reason to smile
That is reason to breathe easy
And rest in Him.
Let go of "when" and "if"
Because His ways
Are so much higher than yours.
His thoughts
Beyond what you could ever fathom
Because He loves you.
Oh, how He loves you.
And this is the point
of your entire existence
To experience His presence
His love
Inside every moment
Especially in the waiting.
"But I will keep on hoping for your help; I will praise you more and more." Psalm 71:14
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